RESUMO
The basic ideas to approach to learning disabilities are the development of body image, the development of laterality and directionality, balance, coordination, and body control. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between perceptual-motor skills and cognitive ability [reading achievement] and to determine if a structured physical education program would develop perceptual motor skills which would affect the learning disabled children to learn to read. Two hundred students age 6 through 8 years old were served as subjects in the study. All subjects were free of any kinds of handicaps but learning disability. They were administrated the Southern California Perceptual Motor Test [SCPMT]. A teacher made criterion referenced test and the elementary public school district achievement test for reading to assess the perceptual motor development and the cognitive ability. The results indicated that: there was no significant difference between the experimental group and the control group on either perceptual-motor development or reading readiness at the beginning of the experiment. However, there was a significant difference between the post-test reading score of the two groups. The experimental group scores were higher than the control group scores. Moreover, there was a significant correlation between perceptual motor development and cognitive ability for the learning disabled children